Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate if whole body fat oxidation, after acipimox administration, during submaximal exercise in the cold, is different from that at temperate environments. Seven healthy recreationally active male subjects cycled at 70% 2peak for 60 minutes; once at 0°C and once at 20°C. To exclude availability, and therefore oxidation of plasma-derived nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), 90 minutes before each cycling bout, subjects ingested 250 mg of the antilipolytic drug, acipimox. Blood and expired gas measurements were obtained at rest, immediately before exercise, and at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes of exercise. In both trials, after the ingestion of acipimox, plasma NEFA concentrations fell dramatically and immediately before and during exercise were lower than 0.05 mmol · L−1 in both trials. Pre-exercise and exercise values of glycerol, glucose, triacylglycerol (TG), and rectal temperature (Tre) were not different between the 0°C and 20°C trials. During exercise at 0°C, skin temperature (Tsk) was significantly reduced from pre-exercise values (P < .05) and at all time points was significantly lower than during exercise at 20°C. Muscle temperature did not differ between trials but in both trials was lower (P < .05) at 1 cm depth than at 3 cm and 2 cm. Gross energy expenditure of cycling (0°C trial, 3.6 ± 0.1 MJ; 20°C trial, 3.6 ± 0.1 MJ), the oxidation rates of carbohydrate (0°C, 32.4 ± 0.5 KJ · min−1; 20°C, 32.6 ± 0.7 KJ · min−1) and fat (0°C, 24.6 ± 1.2 KJ · min−1; 20°C, 23.0 ± 1.8 KJ · min−1), and the proportion of energy derived from fat (0°C, 45 ± 1 %; 20°C, 40 ± 4%) and carbohydrate (0°C, 55 ± 1%; 20°C, 58 ± 3%) were not different between the 2 trials. In conclusion, after acipimox administration, whole body fat oxidation during exercise, designed to avoid adjustment of core temperature or thermogenesis, is not different at 0°C compared with 20°C. This allows the inference that during submaximal exercise, cold has no effect on the utilization of intramuscular TG (IMTG).